Chartres and Chambord

Yesterday was our first day in France.  After an uneventful, if a tad uncomfortable, flight, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport and got our rental car.  We drove to Chartres, checked into our lovely hotel, and then after a wonderfully French lunch, toured Chartres Cathedral.  We went back to our hotel, and lapsed into comas.  This morning we ate a fabulous breakfast -- I forgot how good a croissant can be -- and did a walking tour of the historical parts of the city.  Of course we got lost on our way to the tourist office to get the walking tour guide, because I didn't realize how small a medieval "block" can be (twenty-five steps!)  We ended up finding the most amazing little church.  We stumbled into the Saturday market, and saw a great deal of the city -- the tourist office being our last stop.  After another tour of the cathedral, where we saw the morning light streaming in through the stained glass windows, rather than the afternoon light of yesterday, we drove through to the Arches de L'Aqueduct in the town of Maintenon.  Imagine Ian's surprise to learn that these huge structures were built by Louis XIV, not the Romans!    We drove through the flat countryside and through tiny and ancient French villages to the Chateau Chambord, which has some of the most amazing architecture I've ever seen.  No wonder, since many people believe that Leonardo di Vinci had a hand in its design, although he died a few months before it was started.  Our day was timed perfectly, since we had just handed back our cool little histopad -- and Ipad that you can hold up to objects and rooms and see them as they were, or get more info on pictures and objects in the rooms -- when they announced that the chateau was closed.  We drove to the teeny weenie village of Fleuray, and we are staying outside of town.  We had an amazing five course meal with a half bottle of wine, and as Ian predicted, we seem to have become full bottle people, at least for meals that last two and a half hours.  Ian fell asleep instantly, and in a few minutes, I will be snoring beside him.

 

Unlike the behemoth Kathleen and I drove in the UK, this is a tiny little Peugot clown car.  The trunk holds our two suitcases, the backseat hold our two packs, and the front seat holds us -- just.  Still it is a lovely car to drive, and so far Ian has had fun.  Here he is, collecting our car from where they had parked it -- under the overpass.

Ian seated with a couple of statues, with the Cathedral in the background.

This is a war memorial -- erected in 1902 for the dead from the Franco-Prussian War.

The is the restaurant we ate in, a block or so from the cathedral.

My lunch -- fromage, charcuterie, terrine, et fruits.  Ian had lapin aux pruneaux.  Both were deicious..

The East portal of the cathedral.

The carvings above the largest door on the east portal, showing the resurrection.

 All around the cathedral, the saints and apostles, looked down where we took our pictures.

 The port royale.

The southern rose window.  They are cleaning and "white"washing the cathedral, (it's actually beige) and the pictures are reflected in the plastic surrounding the scaffolding.  Although we were a bit disappointed not to get the full effect of the soaring cathedral, the results really are amazing.

 

 The western rose window.

The Baroque altarpiece.

Looking across the church from one the eastern portal.  Notice the gleaming restored stonework.  Although they are losing some of the feeling of great history, they feel that it is important to show how the builders of the cathedral envisioned it.

I have to admit that I agree with the restoration.  I have never seen more beautiful stained glass, but much of it is very dark blue and rich red.  I think it will be set off far better with the lighter setting.

 

Look at how dark the unrestored stone is compared to the left ambulatory and the sacristry of the cathedral. I think the stained glass looks better -- uplifting and beautiful -- against the lighter stone.

 Saturday, wandering around town, we couldn't figure out why it was deserted.
 Until, that is, we came upon the market.

Until we found out it was market day.

This stall has nothing but different kinds of onions, shallots, and garlic.  We learned that the area of the covered market was where the castle of Chartres stood, even before the cathedral was thought of!

Just wandering around we came across this wonderful church, Eglise St. Aignan.  Named after the first Bishop of Chartres, St. Aignon (around 400 A.D.)  this is the "new" church, built in 1541 after the old church burned.  Only the front wall was reused.

The walls are painted as they were originally.  The folds are supposed to look like linen, and it reminded us of Roman wall painting.

This curch had its own share of stained glass.  This one is original, but some were destroyed in WWII, after remaining intact for 400 years.

I always love the decorated ceilings, and how every surface is decorated.  The original plans called for a vaulted ceiling, but like most churches in Beauce, "a simple wooden roof" was used instead.

Although the exterior of the church is not that prepossessing,  this is the remnant of the Medieval Church.  The door would have been accessed through a passageway between shops and houses built right up to the door, in what is now the square.  No one would see a grand entrance.

This is the tourist office -- I am in my turquoise coat, so Ian took this picture.  This is called the Maison du Saumon.

After our walk around Charetres, we went off to the Arches de L,Aqueduct in the town of Maintenon.  Ian was pleased by their great height, but concerned that they are made out of stone, and not brick.  That, we discovered, is because they were made by Louis the XIV, not the Romans.  However, we enjoyed our drive in the countryside.

 
 Our next step was the impressive Chateau de Chambord, which is a stunning example of architecture even by today's standards.  Many people believe that Leonardo di Vinci was a force in designing the castle, although he died before construction was begun.

The roofs and parapets are particularly elaborate.

 We were impressed that the fireplaces still worked in the chateau, and many tourists were very grateful as they warmed their backsides.  The fires may not have been as elegant as the tiled stove below, but if the chateau was as cold then as it is now, I bet everyone was happy to sit next to a roaring fire.

 The keep is the main area of the castle, but in the defensive walls one can find the chapel, shown below, and the original apartments of Francois Premier, a contemporary -- and rival -- of King Henry the Eighth. 

 Galleries (outdoor walkways) connect the rooms in the outer walls to the keep, and they are full of swallow nests.  I can't imagine a swallow having the temerity to poop on a king!

 Ian is imagining taking home one of these children's chairs to Magnus.

 The centre of the keep is a special "double-helix staircase", where people can go up and down floors and never meet.  This is a concept I found difficult to explain to Ian, who kept trying to walk up to a good place for a picture, and disappearing from sight.  Here he is in one stairway, while I am on the other.

 Eventually the stairs lead up to a huge landing on the roofs, where we imagined the king entertaining his guests with hug barbecues on the roof.

Our Garmin "dropped" us a few miles from the hotel, in the town of Fleuray (eight houses and their accomanying barns.  We had been really happy with our timing, finishing with Chambord just as the monument closed, and were glad to be looking for our hotel in the last light.  We saw a sign pointing the way, and arrived just as the sun set.